


Settling Down

by owarinoway



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Mentioned Sakuma Ritsu, Mentioned Shinobu, Single Dads AU, more from ryuseitai later probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 04:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9862940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owarinoway/pseuds/owarinoway
Summary: Single dads au where Adonis is Kaoru's timid lil kiddo and Koga is Rei's little demon child. Idk it seemed cute in my head. Please enjoy!((Chapter number and title is tentative))





	1. Chapter 1

Kaoru always pictured himself settling down one day and having children. He always liked kids; they were easy to get along with. It wasn't too hard for him to find a good wife, either. Frequently dating a variety of girls throughout high school had paid off. Their wedding wasn't glamorous or anything like that, but instead they started a cozy, simple life together. Kaoru owned a music store he inherited from his parents, and she was a stay at home mom. He thought he was a great husband, so he never imagined that his wife would up and leave one night, forcing him to raise a kid all by himself.

"How's it goin, Adonis?" Kaoru pops his head in his son's room, only to see the boy struggling to put his right shoe on his left foot. He crosses the small room and kneels by the bed. "Give me your other foot, silly bear." 

Adonis was an easy kid. He never complained or even really talked much, and his only fault was occasionally refusing to eat anything except for meat. And really, as far as preschoolers went, it paled dramatically in comparison to the tantrums and fits that other children seemed to throw.

After checking the rest of his son's attire, Kaoru ruffles his soft purple hair, picks him up, and hurries out of the apartment, locking the door behind him. His footsteps echo uncannily as he descends the concrete stairs adjacent to the compact parking lot. Kaoru buckles Adonis into the run down dark minivan quickly, then climbs into the driver's seat, not bothering to buckle himself. 

The commute to the new preschool is short, but being new in town, it takes Kaoru about three times as long to reach his destination. After his wife left, Kaoru had wasted no time in selling his house and shop and moving towns. He figured a fresh start would be good for both of them.

He still couldn’t help dwell on the past, though. What had he done to make her leave? He felt a twinge of guilt, remembering the occasional flirting with other women. Surely that doesn’t constitute abandoning your family, your life. He finds his gaze lingering on the simple silver wedding band adorning his left ring finger. Every morning he told himself he’d take it off, yet it still rested in the same place every night.

“Is this it?” The small voice from the backseat startles him back to reality. 

“Sure is!” He shakes his head as he opens the creaky door, trying to clear his mind. "You excited for your first day, kiddo?" he asks, sliding open the side panel and lifting Adonis out of the car. At four, he already came up to Kaoru's waist. He nods shyly, grabbing his father's hand and hiding behind him slightly as they walk towards the front office. Kaoru signs him in and leads him to the colorful room where the other four year olds are. 

"Ah! You must be Adonis!" An auburn haired young man with eyes to match practically runs over to them, extending his hand to the boy. Adonis does not shake it, but tightens his grip on his father's jacket and further hides himself.

"Sorry about that, Moricchi," Kaoru apologizes, shaking the other man's hand instead. "He's a little shy."

"Not a problem, Hakaze! One of mine is like that too." He laughs and turns towards the rest of the room. "Listen up, rangers! This is Otogari Adonis, and he'll be joining us from now on. Treat him kindly!"

His response is scattered applause, a cough, and a couple yells, though those might have been unrelated.

"I'd better get going," Kaoru says, checking his watch. He's already running late since it took him so long to find the place, and he didn't want to leave a bad impression on his first day on the job. 

"Alright. Leave him to me! He's in good hands," the teacher concludes, clapping Kaoru's back for good measure before running over to a red haired boy shouting, "Natsume please, no black magic in the classroom!"

Kaoru kneels down, brushing his son's hair back. "Are you gonna be okay?" He once again receives a nod. "Come here." He hugs his son, giving him a quick peck on the forehead before straightening. "See you later, alright?"

A grip on his sleeve stops him from going completely. When he turns back around, he's met by large golden eyes filled with tears. "Don't leave, daddy." 

It takes everything Kaoru has not to start crying as well. "I gotta get to work, buddy." He brushes away the boy's tears with his thumbs. "I tell you what. I'll come get you the minute I get off work, how does that sound?" Seeing Adonis's uncertain look, Kaoru adds, "Why don't you try making a friend? You won't even miss me once you start having fun. Okay? Come here." He hugs his son again, who buries his face in his father's shoulder. "I love you, Adonis. Try not to have too much fun without me!" He releases his son and ruffles his hair for good measure.

Kaoru manages to leave the room with minimal heart breakage and heads towards his new job.

* * *

Adonis finds himself wandering towards the toy instruments and picking up a drumstick. Absentmindedly, he smacks a note on a small rainbow colored xylophone. "Hey!" He jumps at the loud voice from behind him. When he turns, he finds himself face to face with an angry looking gray haired boy no older than him and quite a few inches shorter. "This is my spot, so you'd better find somewhere else to play!"

Hearing the commotion, the instructor runs over. "Now, now, Koga. Let's share! Play nice, okay?"

Koga snatches the drumstick out of Adonis's hand. "A lone wolf shares with no one. Morisawa-sensei isn't the boss of me!" 

He sighs. "It'd be a shame to put you in time out so early in the day."

Koga pales a bit at this, and slowly backs down. "I guess you can play over here, new kid."

Stunned by the display, Adonis simply nods. Satisfied, the teacher moves on to a different group.

Gruffly, Koga sits down and starts assaulting a light up guitar with three buttons. "Hey new kid," he barks suddenly. "You got any dogs?" Mutely, Adonis shakes his head. The other boy scoffs in disbelief. "Really? I've got one. They're the best. Do you like dogs?" Adonis nods. "That's good, at least. I was gonna fight you if ya didn't." A couple moments of frantic button smashing pass by before Koga barks, "Don't ya ever talk?"

Adonis shrugs. "Not sure... what I'm s'posed to say," he mutters softly.

"Huh? Well, how 'bout your name? Or do I gotta come up with one for ya." He briefly contemplates good names for his companion, most containing an obscenity of some kind.

Before Koga is able to rename him, Adonis answers. "I'm... Adonis. Otogari Adonis..."

"Otogari, huh?" The gray haired boy squints at him. "I guess that's okay."

"Should I call you Koga?"

The other boy blushes and snarls out, "Fine! Only if I can call you Adonis, though!" What kinda name is that, anyways?"

Adonis looks away. "My ... mommy named me." He sniffles a little. "But she's gone now."

Koga pats the other boy's head. "Come on, now. It's okay," he says uncertainly. "I ain't got a mommy either."

Adonis looks up at him, wiping off his face. "You don't?"

Koga puffs out his chest. "Nope! It's just me and that stupid vampire."

"Vampire?"

"Well, he's my daddy, but..." Koga sits across from the other boy and begins telling wildly exaggerated accounts of his home life.

* * *

One of the reasons Kaoru chose this town was because one of his closest friends guaranteed him a job. It was even through him that Kaoru found Shooting Star preschool. This friend also happened to be one of the most eccentric people Kaoru had ever met, so him having a stable job in a nature reserve seemed... fishy.

"Ah! Kaoru!" He was greeted by a blue mop of hair just visible above the surface of a miniature pond in the front of the building.

"Come on, Kanata-kun," Kaoru groans. "They really let you do that here?" 

His reply is a chuckle and a few splashes. Kanata rises from the water, a lily pad stuck to his shoulder. “They are very ‘kind’ here, you know?” He gently places the lily pad back on the surface of the water. 

“Seems like it.” He eyes his friend’s get up, noticing the excessive khaki and skin coverage of the baggy, tan almost jumpsuit. “You really gotta wear that? I’d die if a girl ever saw me in that. Not that you really care about girls…” 

“I will 'show' you where to 'change' into the uniform,” he agrees.

“I gotta wear that fashion disaster?” The blue haired man nods. “I sure hope there aren’t any women in the facility.”

“Our ‘reserve’ gets all ‘kinds’ of visitors, Kaoru.” Said blond groans. He's lead through a series of hallways he’d never be able to navigate back through to a secluded closet in the back of the building. Once he's changed, Kanata pins a fish to the front of his shirt. "Now they ‘know’ what ‘department’ you’re with.”

Kaoru looks down at his shirt skeptically. “Is that oversized puddle out front the only aquatic habitat out here?”

“Of course not, silly boy. There are lots of ‘fish’ and ‘frogs’ and other ‘creatures’ in the back, you see? I’ll show you your ‘post’,” he giggles.

His post ends up being a couple of adjoining ponds behind the office. "Here are your 'chores'." Kanata hands him a worn clipboard, the papers attached slightly damp. "Make sure you 'finish' them all!" With that, the blue haired man hands him a small net and retreats to the front entrance, no doubt to continue splashing in the miniature pond.

His assignments are fairly simple, mainly consisting of watching visitors that come through and scooping trash out of the waters. It hardly feels like any time has passed when his lunch break comes around.

His lunch ends up consisting of vending machine chips and a shaken up coca cola that explodes and makes his shoes sticky.

"So," he plops down, resigned, on the edge of the mini pond next to Kanata, "How's your Moricchi?"

Kanata chuckles, taking a bite of pasta. "He's very good with 'the children'. Sometimes, I 'think' he has more 'energy' than they do." 

Kaoru lays back, munching on some chips. "I need to find someone like that. Not the energy part. The kids part. Also, not a guy, obviously."

Kanata closes his emerald eyes and pouts slightly. "Still denying it, I see?"

"That's not fair, Kanata-kun." He tugs indignantly on the blond tufts of hair resting on his shoulder. "Why are all of you convinced I'm lying to you? I love girls, you know?"

Kanata scoffs but doesn't push the issue further. "Adonis is in Chiaki's class, then? He's with my nephew. You remember Nacchan, right?"

Kaoru recalls the kid attempting necromancy earlier that morning. "Right."

"Come to think of it, my 'dear friends' both have children in that class." 

Kaoru doesn't ask, vaguely remembering a long haired magician wannabe and a dark haired punk as the friends his was referring to. "Yours aren't in the class with their father, then?"

"Nope. They're all just three, you know? Little Shinobu is barely 'talking' yet." Kaoru grimaces. He was having a hard enough time with just the one, he couldn't fathom three of them. 

A breeze picks up, ruffling his hair. “What am I gonna do?” he murmurs. His only response is vague humming from his companion and the sound of a distant motorcycle revving.

Kanata snaps the lid back on his tupperware container. "I suppose it is 'time' to return to 'work', no?"

"Yep." He claps Kanata on the back. "You wouldn't want the fish to get lonely." His friend giggles and returns his lunch container to his desk while Kaoru tosses his in the trash (and not the pond, you dirty littering rapscallions) and returns to his post, sighing as he fishes out a half-full chicken nugget box.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei is here and gay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk why everyone is shaking hands rip

His day goes by fast and in no time at all he's heading back to the preschool. When he walks in the four year old room the first thing he notices is the bruise on his son's face. 

The large purple haired boy immediately rushes to his side, giving him a tight hug around the knees. "Hey, Adonis." He kneels down and gently grabs the boy’s chin, turning his head to the right. "You have a rough day?" 

"'Smy fault," the rugged looking boy behind him mutters, averting his eyes. 

"Oh?"

"He said he wasn't gonna fight me since he was stronger. What else was i s'posed to do?"

"Ah, Hakaze." Chiaki greets him. "You enjoying the reserve?"

"I'm a bit more interested in why my son has a bruise over half of his face, Moricchi."

Chiaki looks down sheepishly. "I should've stopped it, I know. Koga's normally like this, but they seemed to be doing pretty well, and Anzu fell asleep in her macaroni..."

Kaoru puts an arm around Adonis and sighs. "Are you okay, kiddo?" He nods.

"Don't be mad at Koga," he blurts out. "He's... my new friend." Kaoru eyes the purpling mark skeptically.

“Honestly, Hakaze, they made up and everything.” Chiaki leans in. “Koga actually hugged him, you know? I’ve never even seen him apologize, much less do something like that.”

“What’s this?” Kaoru jumps at the voice, startled by how close it was. When he turns to face its owner, he finds his mouth running dry. Curly black hair frames the man’s face, reaching down to his shoulders where it cascades to a stop. His face seems gentle save for dark red eyes, appearing almost predatory. Looking back, Kaoru definitely thinks that his heart started racing from fear, and not because the man before him was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. “Was my cute little doggy well-behaved for once? Come here, good boy, good boy.” He deflects his son’s punch by scooping him up into a hug. “My cute little wolf,” he coos, bouncing him up and down while pelting his face with kisses.

Koga screams and kicks, shouting, “Put me down ya filthy vampire! I’ll kill ya!” Despite his protests, the gray haired boy hadn’t stopped smiling since he saw the man.

“Come on now, Koga. You know you would be sad if I sent Ritsu or Mao to retrieve you.” The dark haired man regards Adonis. “So you tamed my wild wolf? How impressive. I must know your secrets, young one.” The scarlet gaze turns to Kaoru. “You must be his father, then? I am glad our children seem to behave well together.”

 

Kaoru lifts Adonis, tucking the boy against his chest carefully. “I can’t say I agree. Adonis is not some wild child, and I’d appreciate it if your son didn’t bully him anymore.”

The dark haired man chuckles deeply, then bows. “I seem to have misunderstood the day’s happenings. I apologize sincerely.” He extends his hand as he straightens himself. “Allow me to introduce myself to you. I am Sakuma Rei. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Kaoru takes the offered hand slowly. “Hakaze Kaoru, and this is Adonis.” 

Rei grips the other man’s hand tightly. “I don’t bite, Kaoru-kun. My son might, though.” He chuckles. “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, both Rei and Koga take their leave, the latter waving vigorously at Adonis.

Kaoru stares after them for a moment. “What’s up with that guy?” 

Chiaki shrugs. “He’s one of Kanata’s friends.”

“No way.” Kaoru turns towards his friend wide eyed. “Was he the one in a British punk rock band about 5 years ago?”

“I think so.” The auburn haired man begins stacking chairs, noticing all the children had left. “He hardly ever comes in to pick up Koga, anyway. It’s usually his brother or brother-in-law, since Sakuma-san works night shifts.” He leans against a table wistfully. “I couldn’t imagine a morning and evening without my kids.” He proceeds to sort through the scattered mess of the “paint” area, pitching ruined brushes and empty color tubes. “Did Adonis have fun today?” he asks, raising his voice slightly.

“Forget it, Moricchi,” Kaoru says, rubbing his son’s back. “He’s out. You must have exhausted him today.”

“You’d better get going, then. Drive save, Hakaze. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning!”

The blond somehow manages to get Adonis in his car seat without waking him. Relieved, he climbs into the driver’s seat. “What a weird little town,” he mutters, backing out.

* * * 

To Kaoru’s (and Chiaki’s) surprise, Rei was there after preschool again to pick up Koga. In fact, he continued to pick up his son every day, each time managing to extract longer and longer conversations out of Kaoru. Despite getting used to the mysterious older man, Kaoru still felt his heart race when they locked eyes. He had no reason to be scared, so he couldn’t help but wonder why his heart would do such a thing. After about a week of post preschool chat, Rei proposed they organize a playdate between their sons. He felt reluctant to agree, not forgetting the large bruise the other man’s son left Adonis on the first day, but he gave in upon seeing the boy’s pleading look. “Who’s place are we going to?”

Rei smiles slyly. “Mine, if it’s quite alright with you. I wouldn’t mind introducing you and little Adonis to my brother and in law. You are free to have your wife along,” he adds, nodding toward Kaoru’s ring.

“Oh, ah ha,” Kaoru twists the band nervously. “She… we’re separated. Permanently.”

For a moment, Kaoru thinks he sees the other man smile, but the look quickly disappears. “I see. That is too bad, isn’t it? I do understand the feeling. Koga’s mother…” He shakes his head. “How does 2 pm on Saturday sound, Kaoru-kun?”

 

“Sounds great.” Kaoru kneels down next to Adonis, patting his shoulder. “What do you say, Adonis. Do you wanna hang out with Koga on Saturday?” The boy nods. Kaoru stands again, ruffling his son’s hair. “That means he’s really excited,” he informs Rei.

The dark haired man chuckles. “I believe Koga is too. Aren’t you, my little wolf,” he croons, lifting his son and peppering his face and unruly gray hair with kisses. 

“Let go of me you good for nothing vampire!” Koga shrieks, squirming until his father sets him down. Regaining his composure, he bounces closer to Adonis. “You’ve gotta meet Ritsu-jii-chan. He’s the best! I guess Mao-jii-chan is nice too,” he admits. “One time Mao-jii-chan got so many things on Ritsu-jii-chan’s head while he slept. You’ve got to see it.” He turns his fierce gaze to Rei. “Promise you won’t scare off Ritsu-jii-chan this time.”

“We are, as I believe the kids are saying, ‘all good’.” He scoops up his son again. “You do care about your family, I’m so happy.~”

“We’ve really gotta get going, Sakuma-san,” Kaoru says, glancing at Chiaki tapping his foot impatiently a few feet away, or maybe just fidgeting, trying to blow off energy. He could never really tell with Chiaki. “Could you text me your address? Here,” he holds out his phone, a blank contact opened. “You can put in your number.” After a few moments, Rei returns the phone.

“I went ahead and sent a message so I would recognize your number.” Rei smiles at him, a rare smile free of hidden intentions. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kaoru-kun.” At that moment, a herd of butterflies decided to stampede his insides, so all the blond could do was nod and smile back softly.

“Wow, Hakaze,” Chiaki says, joining Kaoru’s side. “I never thought I’d see you fall for a guy that hard. I’m sure Kanata could say a good thing or two about you to him.” He elbows his friend’s side. “Eh?”

Kaoru shakes his head, the moment over. “Is this middle school? Besides, I don’t have any idea what you mean, ‘fall for a guy’. I’m a ladies man through and through.” He leans down to pick up Adonis. “Oh wow panda bear, you’re getting heavy, you know? You must be eating your meat.” The purple haired boy smiles, hiding his face in Kaoru’s shirt. He turns back to see an uncharacteristically serious expression on Chiaki’s face.

“Kaoru, you’re 23 years old. You shouldn’t be lying to yourself anymore.”

The blond sighs. “Look, Moricchi. I promise if I have some gay awakening in the middle of the night, you’ll be the first person I call.” He leaves Chiaki with a pained expression as he carries his son to his minivan.

* * *

“Come on, Mako. You know you can’t just call here whenever you want anymore.” Adonis peeks his head into the quaint living room at the sound of his mother’s name, rubbing his bleary eyes. “I don’t give a dang about your intentions. You left. That tells me that you don’t want to be here anymore.” Kaoru places his free hand on his left temple. “We could have done something about it, Mako. Legally,” he whispers, beginning to shake. “I’m sorry, but I think it’s best for you to keep your distance for now.” Adonis slips back to his room as his father hangs up the phone and begins to cry.

Kaoru had imagined the next conversation he’d have with his wife every day for a year since she left. He always thought it’d be him apologizing for his mistakes, begging her to come back. She first contacted him a couple weeks ago. He had practiced and practiced the biggest apology of his life, and it bubbled to the surface the second he recognized her name on caller id. Never in his imagination had it been her fault. He had been overwhelmingly unprepared for her explanation. He knew when he married her that she wasn’t perfect. He knew about the occasional gambling habits, and even thought they were under control. That’s why when she called from outside of the country and confessed to $400,000 in foreign debt, he had no idea what to say. Since the first call there had been 17 more, each from the county prison, sometimes two or three in one night.

His phone lit up again and answered, not bothering to check the display. “Mako, you have to stop calling, at least for a bit. I can’t forgive you right now. I will not let you talk to Adonis, either. How can I trust you to talk to our son when you’re in prison?” He inhales sharply, urging, forcing the tears to stop.

“Kaoru?” The voice on the other end was definitely not Mako. He glanced at his phone and mentally slapped himself.

“Hey Kanta-kun. Just thought you were someone else. What’s up?”

 

“If you ‘want’ to ‘talk’ I can be a very good ‘listener’, you know?”

Kaoru sighs. “That’s okay, it’s nothing. What’d you need?”

Kanata’s giggle bursts through the phone static. “I was going to ‘tease’ you about Rei, but this does not seem like a ‘good time’.”

“Why would you call about that at 2 am,” he deadpans.

“I thought you were ‘asleep’,” Kanata admits. “I had ‘intended’ to just ‘leave a message’, you see.”

“Alright, alright. You and Moricchi sure have some weird ideas about this. We’re going to his house so our children can play together. It’s not exactly a romantic night out.”

“So you want a ‘date’ with him… I see. I am ‘sure’ I can help ‘arrange’ to watch the ‘children’ one night, you know?”

Kaoru groans. “Kanata-kun, I am not interested in him, or any man. Hey, why are you even awake this late anyway? ”

Kanata sighs. “One of the ‘children’ is not ‘feeling well’. I am ‘caring for him’ while Chiaki fetches ‘medicine’.”

“Oh no, poor kid. I hope he feels better soon. You’d better go then. Goodnight, Kanata-kun.”

“Goodnight, Kaoru.” 

Feeling emotionally drained, Kaoru wearily trudges to his room and sprawls across his bed, falling into a fitful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> REI WILL BE HERE IN CHAPTER TWO sorry for this long exposition whoops


End file.
